Source
r/germany•
khith

Applying for Master's one semester after graduating from a German Bachelor's degree - would they extend my student visa?

Question

Hi everyone,

I'm a non-EU student, currently at the end of my Bachelor's degree at an FH in Germany. I should be finished around September 2020. My current visa is only valid until Oct 31st 2020. The problem is, I cannot apply for any Master's programme anywhere for the Wintersemester 20/21 because my programme is quite specific and rare, only two public unis in different cities (incl. my current uni) that I know of offer it. These two unis offer consecutive Master's for my programme too, they are similar enough so I can apply to both, but they start only in Sommersemester.

Has anyone ever had the same problem and if yes, would the Ausländerbehörde still extend my student visa, even though I have to wait for one semester to apply for the Master's? My grades aren't bad (current average is 2,1) and the requirements for the Master's aren't too demanding either, so I have a high chance of being accepted to either unis. Is there some kind of a Bescheinigung that the university can provide as a proof to the Ausländerbehörde that I'm applying for Master's and have a high chance of getting accepted?

Any advice would be very appreciated!

Posted Feb 1, 2020, 11:34 PM UTC

77
godless-lifeAachen / China•

You could also just apply for the job seeker visa, as a graduate from a German uni you should be entitled to stay for 6 months. That would definitely bridge the gap.

6
khithOP•

To your knowledge, is it not possible to keep my student visa? I think it'd be much more complicated to change the type of my visa twice in 6 months.

1
godless-lifeAachen / China•

Since you're not guaranteed a spot, I think it's not possible - but go talk to them, they might offer a way I'm not aware of.

1
maryfamilyresearchGDR•

There is a sub category of the student visa that is called student applicant. It is valid for 9 months before you start studying.

If you can get a letter from your profs stating what you told us above and can stay enrolled in university some way or other (usually it is done through temporary enrolling in a different subject), you might be able to get either student applicant or a regular student visa.

I would be careful with the jobseeker visa. While it allows you to stay in Germany, it does not give you the right to work. A student visa would be better.

2
khithOP•

As I said, it's highly possible that I can't stay enrolled for the semester after finishing the Bachelor's because there isn't any other uni that offers a similar enough Master's programme to apply to.

I will have a German bachelor's degree so I'm allowed to work on a jobseeking visa, without restrictions in fact. What I want to avoid is changing my visa twice in such a short time.

1
maryfamilyresearchGDR•

usually it is done through temporary enrolling in a different subject),

What I was suggesting was getting enrolled in a subject like philosophy or similar for a semester at the bachelor's level. This is known as "Parkstudium", you are parking yourself in that field (easy fun bachelor) until you can switch to your desired field (masters in the subject where you already have a Bachelor).

Advantage over a jobseeker visa would be lower fees for health insurance if you are on public insurance and you could keep the semesterticket. If you live in a student dorm, you would not be forced to move out. Etc.

1
whiteraven4USA•

Just go and talk to them. They might give you a Fiktionsbeschingung. That's what happened to me, but my situation was less up in the air than yours is.

1